1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a three-dimensional educational puzzle and the method by which it is constructed and solved. The solution relies on matching the indicia on all surfaces both exposed and non-exposed, of the playing pieces.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Puzzles have entertained and amused mankind for centuries. In some cases puzzles have served as educational or instructional tools in addition to entertainment. However, there have been relatively few puzzles which aid in the understanding of three dimensional geometric relationships.
Past art has described a variety of two-dimensional puzzles and games which aid in learning the relationships of similar designs, etc. on planar surfaces, such as, matching games in which images, colors, words, or etc, must be matched together to be correct or to solve a puzzle or riddle. Such puzzles and games are well described in such books as "Mathematical Magic Show by Martin Gardner (1978) and "Puzzles Old and New" by Louis Hoffman (1893)
Recently games have been conceived which rely on matching patterns on planar surfaces, for instance, Symmetrix by Ravensburger requires that players correctly match together separated images printed on playing cards. Triazzle by Dan Gilbert requires that players assemble two-dimensional triangular tiles in the form of equilateral triangles which feature separated images on each side of the triangle and when properly assembled, whole images are formed across the junction 25 of the adjoining pieces. There is no image on the non-exposed (back side) of any piece.
Neither Symmetrix, nor Triazzle are comprised of three dimensional playing pieces and do not offer the challenge of assembling a three dimensional structure nor the educational process of manipulating three dimensional structures in space. They do not require that the player understand 3-D geometrical relationships and are of little benefit in improving the coordination necessary for manipulating a three-dimensional object in space in relation to other like three-dimensional objects.
Some two-dimensional puzzles do rely on the sub-division of regular geometric shapes to produce the pieces of the puzzle, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,217 However, matching of indicia on the surfaces are not required and said sub-divisions are not geometrically symmetrical. It does not aid in understanding three-dimensional geometric concepts.
Three-dimensional puzzles are known which require the assembly of smaller three-dimensional structures to form the final structure. Comprehensive books have been written which describe the variety of known three-dimensional puzzles, such as "Puzzles Old and New, How to Make and Solve Them", by J. Slocum and J. Botermans, and references therein. Most of the known puzzles do not require that designs or indicia on their surfaces be matched in order to complete the puzzle, only that the pieces be assembled to form the final structure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,171 requires the solver to assemble the pieces such that they all fit into a prescribed pattern and assembly must be accomplished by placement of the pieces from only one direction while rotating. Thus, no three-dimensional concepts are addressed. In addition, no indicia matching is required.
Another example was described in 1970 by House of Games, Canada, which comprised a cubic puzzle composed of 13 rectangularly shaped pieces having 9 colors disposed on their surfaces. Solution of the puzzle relies on locating 9 different colors on each exposed surface of the final cubic structure. No requirement or interest was shown for the color patterns on the non-exposed surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,645 discloses a mathematical cube puzzle in which four separate cubes have on each of their edges one of a set of three color patterns. The object of the game is to arrange the various cubes relative to one another so that the colors associated with all exposed adjacent playing edges of different cubes match one another. This puzzle has a plurality of solutions and the pieces can be arranged into a wide variety of different shapes, few of which are symmetrical. The educational value of this puzzle is in understanding mathematical combinations but teaches nothing with respect to three dimensional geometric relationships. A number of U.S. patents have issued which describe novel three dimensional mechanical device puzzles, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,637,216 and 3,655,201. These mechanical device puzzles are comprised of pieces which are permanently attached to one another and thus do not provide the solver with three-dimensional geometric concepts and spatial relationships while solving the puzzle. However they do provide the solver with the challenge of matching colors or indicia on their exposed surfaces. But, as the puzzles are attached internally, the internal surfaces are not important. A similar puzzle, also made of four cubes, called "Instant Insanity", requires matching colors on the cube faces but has only one solution which is achieved by trial and error. No logic is required to solve the puzzle and the final solution is not a true three dimensional solution. Thus, this puzzle does not provide for education in three dimensional spatial relationships.
Other three-dimensional puzzles require assembly or disassembly of the puzzle in a specific sequence. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,215 is comprised of a plurality of interlocking pieces which must be manipulated in a prescribed sequence in order to solve the puzzle. This puzzle, though providing an educational benefit for understanding binary sequence codes, does not address any geometrical concepts.